KAREN BERGER Leaves DC Comics' Vertigo

Karen Berger, who shepherded Vertigo into a top source for Mature comic books, is leaving the imprint. Serving for nearly two decades as Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of Vertigo and for over 3 decades with DC Comics as a whole, Berger's contributions to comic books had her working with, and sometimes introducing, names like Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan, Alan Moore, and current DC Comics phenom Scott Snyder.

The Sandman, Hellblazer, V for Vendetta, Fables, Preacher, The Invisibles, 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man, and American Vampire were all listed in a press release announcing her March 2013 departure, and those only scratch the surface.

Berger said the decision comes as she's looking for a professional change.
“I’ve been incredibly proud to have provided a home where writers and
artists could create progressive and provocative stories that
broadened the scope of comics, attracting a new and diverse readership
to graphic storytelling,” said Berger in the press release. “I’d like to thank all the many
immensely talented creators who have helped make Vertigo into a daring
and distinctive imprint and I’m grateful to everyone at DC Entertainment
and the retail community for their support and commitment to Vertigo
all these years. It’s been quite an honor.”
DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson thanked Berger for her work, saying in the release, “We are extremely
grateful for Karen’s commitment and dedication to Vertigo, its books and
its incredibly talented team of staff and creators. In Vertigo she
leaves a legacy to which we remain committed and on which we intend to
build for the future. She will always be a deeply valued and respected
member of the DC family.”
The aforementioned Hellblazer, Vertigo's longest lasting comic book at 300 issues, was recently announced as canceled as of February 2013, with the character moving full-time to the DC Comics New 52 Universe. This, along with prominent Vertigo characters like Animal Man, Sandman, Madame Xanadu, and more moving back to the DC imprint fueled speculation that the imprint, at least in its current incarnation, may not be long for this world.
Perhaps to help combat those specualtions, Vertigo announced a new science fiction anthology today called Time Warp, beginning in March 2013, the same as Berger's departure. A Sandman mini-series written by series scribe Neil Gaiman will also run early next year telling the story of how Morpheus got to the point he first appears in issue #1 of what became the first Vertigo ongoing series.
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